1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a separation device for a product stream and a method for separating at least part of a product stream.
2. Description of the Related Art
The handling of products in installation engineering, especially with a proceeding automatization, also requires to process and transport products, which have a certain share of slack. The source for such slack can lie, for example, in the products per se. This can occur, if products are damaged, break, crumble or fall apart, like it is conceivable in the case of baking goods.
Furthermore, slack can be produced, if foreign shares are contained in the products stream. These foreign shares can be desired components, like, for example, sugar, salt, pepper, chocolate pellets or similar components, provided for the decoration or coating of the products. It is, however, also conceivable, that undesired components are involved, like, for example, dust, sand ice crystals, liquids or the like.
By the presence of slack in the stream of transported products, the processing or the transport thereof can get difficult. In this case, for example friction forces and adhesion forces can occur, which disturb the machines, or which disturb the determined processing of the products, or can in turn lead to their damage or destruction.
Further, damaged products or foreign shares of other components are undesired, as a pure processing is usually desired and the product should be handled in whole pieces. Further, problems can arise during a weighing and packaging process, if slack is transported together with the products.
Therefore, separation devices for slack of different nature are used, for example during the production and processing of construction materials, food, combustible material, etc. Thereby, the products which contain slack are led, for example, over sieves or are blown with air, to remove small-pieced shares, or to remove dust or the like.
A too high share of liquid or ice crystals could, for example also negatively influence the guaranteed minimum share of a solid, frosted product in a finished package. Furthermore, product shares captured in the sealing jaws of a packaging machine could prohibit the tight closing of the package and could lead to a machine disturbance.
In some industries it is desired to use the slack removed from the product stream, by leading it to other product categories or by recycling it in the same process.
Like that, there are devices known in the food industry, which separate a loose sugar share from a product stream of sugared sweet food over slits in the transport path and lead it via pipes into reservoirs. Thereby, the pipes must preferably not block the access to the further parts of the plant.
It is a disadvantage of those known devices that they represent closed systems due to the normally used pipes, which cannot be looked into. This entails the further disadvantage that those systems are difficult to clean. This is not desirable due to hygienic reasons.
Furthermore, in the known systems the slack is filled into containers. These containers have to be monitored respectively, and if necessary, they have to be emptied or changed. This requires a manual intervention and causes an interruption, which does not enable a reliable discharge of the sugar, until the emptied or a new container is provided.
Thereby there are further concerns, whether the sugar separated in this way can or should really be reused.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved separation device, which at least clears one of the above-mentioned disadvantages.